The times do change!!
- Rating:
5 after 1 vote
I was gone for 2.5 months and all of a sudden Dongguan seems different. Maybe because some people are gone... maybe it's because like 3 bars popped up on Jiu Ba Jie over the Christmas holidays... or maybe it's because i wasn't ready to come back. Either way... Dongguan seems different.
Dongguan has become a comfortable place for me... i'm well aware of the ins and outs of this place... and how it works. I might suffer from a bit of culture shock every once in a while... but i've become extremely open to whatever comes my way. I don't even cringe when i'm in the taxi anymore! I feel like i understand the driving habits of people and am aware of where the bottlenecks are going to be and any cars that look like they've got aggressive drivers.
I found out that my family from Canada is coming to visit... and they are bringing a friend along. I know that this friend is a very kind, personable, outgoing person... however... she's got the kind of personality that strikes me that China isn't going to be for her. Of course I won't know until she gets here... but... it does make me nervous. How is she going to react to the latrines? the street filth? the spitting? the crotchless babies? the massive and crazy amounts of traffic? The cantonese people and their congenital deafness? or the wet market and how the meat is just sitting out on the counter? These are the things that i've grown accustomed to... and i hadn't thought about it before, but now it's all coming up to the surface because i'm going to show a friend who has never been outside of North America what its like to live here.
It's going to be interesting!
Dongguan has become a comfortable place for me... i'm well aware of the ins and outs of this place... and how it works. I might suffer from a bit of culture shock every once in a while... but i've become extremely open to whatever comes my way. I don't even cringe when i'm in the taxi anymore! I feel like i understand the driving habits of people and am aware of where the bottlenecks are going to be and any cars that look like they've got aggressive drivers.
I found out that my family from Canada is coming to visit... and they are bringing a friend along. I know that this friend is a very kind, personable, outgoing person... however... she's got the kind of personality that strikes me that China isn't going to be for her. Of course I won't know until she gets here... but... it does make me nervous. How is she going to react to the latrines? the street filth? the spitting? the crotchless babies? the massive and crazy amounts of traffic? The cantonese people and their congenital deafness? or the wet market and how the meat is just sitting out on the counter? These are the things that i've grown accustomed to... and i hadn't thought about it before, but now it's all coming up to the surface because i'm going to show a friend who has never been outside of North America what its like to live here.
It's going to be interesting!
Comment
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Comment by Daniel Spencer on February 17, 2010 at 10:54am - Totatally agree with Tammy!! Afect your core and Build your character!! Great point of view!
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Comment by Tammy on February 11, 2010 at 4:12pm -
Thanks for the comments guys! I think that my family and friend are going to be absolutely blown away with this place. There are obviously things that I wish were more efficient... or Canadian Culturally acceptable... but c'est la vie. I totally agree that they're going to be totally overwhelmed when they get here... and it won't really sink in until they leave.
Case in point. I had a good friend, Sabina, who was in China for 6 months. Hated the majority of her time here... but when she got back to the States... she hasn't stopped talking about it... That was 2 years ago. She grew so much when she was here... and learned how to be more open minded and accepting of different people, attitudes, and culture. China gets in your bones and affects your core... and it's all good.... builds character!
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Comment by Byron Jones on February 11, 2010 at 12:42pm -
I suffer reverse culture shock when I go back to Australia and I think Gigi is right, it's going to be so strange and so incredible that it won't hit them, (really hit them), until they are back in the USA.
Different, doesn't mean wrong or bad, it just means different.
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Comment by Gigi on February 9, 2010 at 11:29am -
To Steve: u aint changing any chinese habits, at best they will probably change yours in a matter of a few years.
To Tammy: relax the caos will overwelm their senses..by the time they realise whats happening they are probably already back on the plane..;-), i remember my first trip to china more 10 years ago..was like driving a QQ and a second after waking up on a lamborghini...speed is the only thing they will remember after going back to Cananda.
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Comment by Michael on February 9, 2010 at 10:37am -
I think that Tammy was more concerned about how the culture shock that family friend would need to go through. Every single one of us has been in the same boat when it comes to the things she mentioned. Think back to the first time you saw a dog hanging on the side of the street or when you saw the little boy taking a wee in the street. I'm sure your first instinct was shock and disgust.
I truly hope that the family friend enjoys their stay in Dongguan and can have a shift in world view once they travel between Hong Kong and Dongguan (presuming they'd be flying into HK).
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Comment by Steve Rose on February 8, 2010 at 8:24am - Tammy, this is Dongguan China and if your family from Canada doesn't like it they can get back on the plane. Nobody is forcing them,to come. Please try to make peace with yourself. Please ask your family members to make peace with themselves. We can all work together to slowly change the bad Chinese habits, but this is going yo take time and tolerance. Yours in Peace. Steve
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Comment by Michael on February 6, 2010 at 4:38pm
- You could have oh so much fun with showing the friend around.
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